Soroka wins 2017 NGCC Senior Open

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Published on Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Photo by Eoin Devereux. NGCC general manager & CPGA golf pro Landon Cameron congratulates the 2017 Senior Open Champion, Dave Soroka.

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A combination of home course advantage and simply finding his ‘A’ game at the perfect time catapulted Dave Soroka to the top of the leaderboard at the 2017 Neepawa Golf and Country Club Senior Open.  

The Neepawa club member claimed the championship flight on Monday, July 10, with a solid one-over par 73. That final score was two shots better than the nearest competition. After the event, Soroka noted that he was able to find his rhythm quickly out there on the course and hit the centre of the fairways in a consistent manner. 

“I was able to find the fairway on pretty much every shot today. There was only the 13th hole, where I just didn’t seem to have it and ended up shooting a seven [on a par 4]. Other than that, the rest seemed to be a par or birdie. I ended the round with five birdies. I’ve never had five birdies,” noted Soroka. “As well, I was able to finish on the greens, which is a huge part of this game. There were a few longer putts, that just found the bottom of the hole. I was able to read the greens and find the right weight on the putts.”

This is the fourth time Soroka has competed in the Open and has been able to gradually improve upon his result every year. He has been a member of the NGCC for about 13 years and is usually able to play the course about twice a week. Course general manager and CPGA golf pro Landon Cameron said Soroka is one of many local players who put together a solid showing on the day.

“Every year, we get alot of top notch players from across the province coming out to the Open, so having a local win it all is special. It’s been a few years since we had a member take it all. On top of that, there were several familiar names near the top of leaderboard. We have a solid group that is always in the mix, which is nice to see,” stated Cameron. “As for [Soroka] taking it this year, he’s normally a high 70s’, low 80s’ type shooter. But today, he said he just could do no wrong, which is awesome. You can have those days.”

As for general reaction to the course conditions, Cameron said they’ve been receiving a lot of praise.

“The golf course has held up really well this year. It’s been in great shape. The grounds crew has been doing a fantastic job. The comments we heard from the players, both the locals and  the out-of-owners were very positive. We know what we got, but hearing those complements, it’s always good to hear. It just shows that the staff is doing a really good job. Taking some pride in their work. We’re lucky to have a championship caliber course in our home town. And it’s not only me, or the staff who should be proud of this. Every club member should take pride in those compliments, because it’s their course as much as anyone else.”

Finishing just back of Soroka in the Championship Flight were Gary Garbolinsky (75), Don Schmall (77) and Grant Coulter (78).